Surgeon Used Rusty Hacksaw From Old Hospital Storage Closet To Amputate Patient’s Leg

When it comes to the National Health Service in Britain, despite its obvious drawbacks, doctors usually perform pretty well and most people in the UK are at least mostly satisfied with the service they receive.

However, an investigation is now underway into a Scottish-based hospital where a surgeon allegedly used a rusty hacksaw to remove a patient’s leg, due to the fact the local hardware store was closed.

The whole bizarre affair was witnessed by theater staff who reported the surgeon to the relevant authorities.

When the patient, an elderly man, was admitted to the Ayr Hospital for a routine operation, a metal plate was found in his leg, prompting the surgeon to amputate.

For one reason or another, according to the preliminary investigation, the theater staff couldn’t find the equipment they needed to carry out the amputation. It was at this point that a member of staff was sent to the local hardware store but it was closed for the night.

The surgeon then decided to retrieve an old and reportedly rusty hacksaw from a store closet in the hospital and used it to perform the amputation.

Jackson Carlaw, Scottish Tory health spokesman, said to reporters about the incident, “This is simply incredible – an indescribable way to treat any patient. Despite the UK’s advancement in modern medicine this episode has all the finesse of improvised surgery on Nelson’s flagship during the Battle of Trafalgar. l would hope that NHS Ayrshire and Arran thoroughly investigates this as a matter of urgency.”

The actions of the surgeon were explained by a health board source, who said, “He (the patient) was at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock when it was decided he needed a leg amputation and he was taken to Ayr. The operating theatre was prepared, he was anaesthetised and the operation began but it was halted after the surgeon had difficulty cutting further.”

He added, “That’s when he discovered he had hit a metal plate that they didn’t know about. So he frantically sought advice from the consultant orthopaedic surgeon, who suggested going to B&Q. However, the store was closed because the operation was being carried out after 9pm.”

[Image credit: pintrest.com]